Tag: archives

On a chilly January afternoon I joined a handful of fellow students in a parking lot on the campus of UNC Wilmington. The late Dr. Bill McCarthy, professor for our senior seminar on the ‘Golden Age of Piracy’, arrived shortly in a rental minivan and we loaded our bags into the back of the vehicle. … More Into the Archives: tips for your first research trip

TW: suicide I encountered Alexander Duncan in the spring of 2016. Reading through the business correspondence of James Murray, a Scottish merchant who settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in the early 1730s, I found Murray’s connection with Duncan, another Scottish merchant in the port town. By the 1760s, James Murray had relocated to Boston where … More Where’d you go, Alexander? Finding death in the archives

In American history, February is a month full of big of birthdays. On Monday, the US celebrated President’s Day. The federal holiday commemorating George Washington’s birthday is observed every third Monday of February (sometimes locally held in conjunction with that of Abraham Lincoln). Mount Vernon created an interactive timeline chronicling the fascinating history of the … More Five on a Friday: A month of birthdays